Frank B. (Frank Bunker) Gilbreth

Born in 1868, Frank Bunker Gilbreth was an American engineer, inventor, and management thinker best known for studying motion and efficiency on the job. He began his career in construction, where he developed better methods for bricklaying, and went on to become one of the leading figures in early scientific management.

Working closely with his wife, Lillian Moller Gilbreth, he analyzed tasks in factories, workshops, and other workplaces to reduce wasted effort and improve productivity. Their work on time-and-motion study made the Gilbreths especially influential in industrial engineering, and Frank Gilbreth also held numerous patents tied to construction and work methods.

He died in 1924, but his reputation lasted through both his professional influence and his family's later fame. Two of his children wrote Cheaper by the Dozen, which introduced many readers to the energetic household shaped by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.